Nestable cuboidal container having punt

ABSTRACT

A nestable container comprises a bottom wall and a top wall, and sidewalls. The container may have a cuboidal shape. A recess is formed in the bottom wall. A discharge outlet is formed in the top wall. The discharge outlet has a shape what is complementary to the shape of the recess. When stacked the discharge outlet fits within the recess of the container stacked above so that the containers nest.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/253,309 filed Oct. 20, 2009.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

The present invention was not developed with the use of any Federal Funds, but was developed independently by the inventor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Prior art beverage containers typically have a shape that is not amenable to efficient stacking and, as a result, much space is wasted during shipping and storage because the containers do not stack or nest efficiently. The present invention overcomes theses are other deficiencies in the prior art by proving a beverage container that facilitates efficient stacking and nesting and wastes little space. In addition, the container of the present invention utilizes shipping/transport space, such as by truck, rail, airplane, ship or other wholesale transportation method, more efficiently.

In addition, the container of the present invention utilizes retail shelf space and refrigeration space more efficiently. It also facilitates the stable use of retail space since the cuboidal shape of the container is less likely to topple over or spill. The more efficient use of refrigeration space consumes less energy since less energy goes to refrigerating and maintaining the temperature of the air which is not present due to the more efficient design of the container of the present invention.

The present invention solves these and other problems with prior-art containers by providing a punt on the bottom wall of the container and a complementary discharge spout on the top wall which nests within the punt of the container stacked above it when the containers are stacked.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A nestable container comprises a bottom wall and a top wall, and sidewalls. The container may have a cuboidal shape. A recess is formed in the bottom wall. A discharge outlet is formed in the top wall. The discharge outlet has a shape what is complementary to the shape of the recess. When stacked the discharge outlet fits within the recess of the container stacked above so that the containers nest.

In one form of the invention, the container has a cuboidal, cube shape, or the like.

In another form of the invention the container is fabricated from a thermoplastic material, aluminum, or the like.

The container may include a cap for sealing the discharge outlet. The recess may form a punt. The recess or punt may be formed in the center of the bottom wall and the discharge outlet may be formed in the center of the top wall.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there are shown in the drawings embodiments which are presently preferred. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the container in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the container of FIG. 1

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the container taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the container of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of two containers of the present invention stacked in a nested condition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIGS. 1-6, the invention relates to a container 10 for holding liquids or granular solids. The container comprises a top wall 12, a bottom wall 14 and side walls 16. The edges and vertices of the container 10 may be beveled, chamfered, radiused, rounded or the like.

A discharge outlet 18 is formed in the top wall 12, preferably in the center thereof. A recess or punt 20 may be formed in the bottom wall 14, preferably at the center thereof. A cap or other form of stopper 22 is provided to seal the end of the discharge outlet 18 of the container 10. The cap 20 may be of the screw-on type, flip-top type, or the like.

Preferably the discharge spout 20 has a cylindrical shape for facilitating a user's pouring or drinking from the container, although other shapes fall within the scope of the present invention. The recess or punt 20 is formed in a shape that is complementary to the shape of the discharge spout 18 such that the spout 18 is capable of nesting within the recess 20 and enabling the containers to stack on top of each other, such as shown in FIG. 6. For example, referring now to FIG. 6, the recess may have a cylindrical or concave shape that is slightly larger than the discharge spout 18 whereby the spout fits wholly within the recess 20 enabling the bottom wall 14 of the upper container 10 to rest on the top wall 12′ of the bottom container 10′ with the spout 18′ and cap 22′ nested within the recess 20.

It should be understood that the spout 18 and the recess 20 may be located anywhere on the top and bottom walls provided that they are capable of nesting when a plurality of containers are stacked. It should also be understood that the spout and recess may have any complementary shape, such as a cuboidal, spherical or the like.

The container is preferably fabricated from a lightweight yet sturdy thermoplastic material, such as polyethylene or the like. Other lightweight, yet sturdy materials are also contemplated, such as aluminum or other lightweight metals, glass, cardboard, or the like.

Preferably the container has a general, regular, or rectangular cuboid shape, more preferably the container is shaped like a cube. The preferred embodiment is not limited to a cube; any cuboidal shape, such as rectangular cuboids fall within the scope of the present invention.

In the preferred form of the invention, the container 10 is a plastic beverage container in the shape of a cube. Preferably the container is capable of being fabricated in various standard sizes, such as 330 milliliters (about 12 ounces), 500 milliliters (about 16.9 ounces), or the like.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. 

1. A container comprising: a bottom wall and a top wall, a recess formed in the bottom wall, a discharge outlet formed in the top wall, the discharge outlet having a shape what is complementary to the shape of the recess, whereby when stacked the discharge outlet fits within the recess of the container stacked above so that the containers nest.
 2. The container according to claim 1 wherein the container has a cuboidal shape.
 3. The container according to claim 2 wherein the container has a cube shape.
 4. The container according to claim 1 wherein the container is fabricated from a thermoplastic material.
 5. The container according to claim 1 wherein the container is fabricated from aluminum.
 6. The container according to claim 1 further comprising a cap for sealing the discharge outlet.
 7. The container according to claim 1 wherein the recess is a punt.
 8. The container according to claim 1 wherein the recess is formed in the center of the bottom wall and the discharge outlet is formed in the center of the top wall.
 9. A container comprising: a bottom wall, a top wall, and side walls forming a cuboidal shape a recess formed in the bottom wall, a discharge outlet formed in the top wall, the discharge outlet having a shape what is complementary to the shape of the recess, whereby when stacked the discharge outlet fits within the recess of the container stacked above so that the containers nest and the cuboidal shape of the container facilitate efficient storage of the container.
 10. The container according to claim 9 wherein the container has a cube shape.
 11. The container according to claim 9 wherein the container is fabricated from a thermoplastic material.
 12. The container according to claim 9 wherein the container is fabricated from aluminum.
 13. The container according to claim 9 further comprising a cap for sealing the discharge outlet.
 14. The container according to claim 9 wherein the recess is a punt.
 15. The container according to claim 1 wherein the recess is formed in the center of the bottom wall and the discharge outlet is formed in the center of the top wall.
 16. A container comprising: a bottom wall, a top wall, and side walls forming a cuboidal shape a punt formed in the bottom wall, a discharge outlet formed in the top wall, the discharge outlet having a shape what is complementary to the shape of the recess, whereby when stacked the discharge outlet fits within the recess of the container stacked above so that the containers nest and the cuboidal shape of the container facilitate efficient storage of the container; and a cap for sealing the discharge outlet. 